For: Katdemon1895
Request: Challenge to write a fairy tale that hasn't been made into a Disney film.
Author's Note: This was difficult! Very difficult! (Especially if you want it to be semi-serious and not crack!fic.) I went with the Ugly Duckling story, which may not be a fairy tale per se but I hope it's acceptable! :)
Merry Christmas, Kat! x
She'd spent her childhood trying to live up the Parker family legacy and, somehow, she'd always ended up falling short.
It wasn't that she wasn't clever – she was. She was actually one of the brightest members of the family, finishing her GCSE's when other students her age were only just deliberating over what subjects to study, but that didn't seem to appease her family.
Brains weren't what made the Parker women special; it was their beauty.
Her mother was stunning; it was a simple truth she'd grown up with her whole life. Tall, blond, curved in all the right places… Elizabeth Parker could have been famous for walking the catwalks of the world and gracing the glossy pages of magazines and everyone who met her knew it.
The same could be said for Jess's sister's, too. Both older than her, Isabelle and Katherine were stunning like their mother. They had her height, her slender figure but that, combined with their father's dark eyes and dark hair, made them into exotic beauties rather than the classic English Rose their mother was.
When Jess had been born, everyone had had high expectations for her, too. There'd been a certain excitement when they'd realised she was keeping her mother's baby blue eyes and a high hope that she'd live up to the Parker standard of impossible beauty.
That hope had died when Jess had turned sixteen and simply stopped growing any taller.
At five foot four, she was considered imperfect by her family's standards.
And that, added to her brownish-red hair, a throwback to someone on her late Grandmother's side of the family, meant she broke the mould as far as Parker women went and not, she'd been cruelly reminded all of her life, in a good way.
It wasn't that her parents were mean about it, exactly. She was very much a Daddy's girl at heart and Mr Parker obviously adored his youngest girl. (Probably, Jess thought some days, because she was the only one of his children who'd happily spend time with him rather than waste hours and hours primping in front of the mirror all day.)
Her mother was kind enough, though the way she continually reassured Jess that she had other attractive qualities other than her looks was a bit of a backhanded compliment.
Her sisters… Now, they were cruel and they knew it.
Life was easy for Isabelle and Katherine. They floated through their days getting by on their looks. Even as children, neither had had any aspirations of a career. They'd both been confident that their beauty would win them good, rich husbands just like their mother had done. (They seemed to forget that Elizabeth had worked up until she was married and stopped only to be a full-time parent to her children.)
They made fun of Jess not only for her looks but because she spent so much time with her head in a book or typing away at the computer in their father's home office. She was a bookworm, a swot and, worst of all in their eyes, ugly.
Now, it wasn't that Jess thought she was entirely unattractive.
She knew her looks were passable. She was short, yes, but she was in proportion. She had a slender waist she knew her sisters, curvy though they were, were more than a little bit envious of even if they'd rather die than admit it. She had curves of her own, soft as they may be, and her eyes, blue like her mothers, were one of her best features.
Her brain, Jess had always told herself firmly, was the other.
Still, she couldn't help feeling as if she always came up short when compared to the other women in her family – no pun intended – so when the day came to finally introduce the man in her life to the other members of her family, Jess was perhaps understandably more than a little nervous.
Her friends didn't understand. She'd tried to explain the situation to Abby and Emily as they'd helped her choose what dress to wear for the occasion but they'd just given her indulgent smiles, told her she was not only gorgeous, she was also an amazing person and that Becker, emotionally stinted man though he was, was absolutely crazy about her.
That part she at least believed; their relationship had shifted from colleagues and maybe friends into something a lot more serious rather quickly after what she was privately calling 'the beetle nightmare'. It seemed that almost losing her had had a profound effect on the fearless Captain and he'd barely let her out of his sight ever since.
(And that was something she was most definitely not complaining about.)
As the morning in question dawned, Jess woke up slowly, cocooned as normal by the warmth of the man sharing her bed. She opened her eyes, blinked, and remembered what day it was, groaning softly as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Can I call them and say we have to work?"
"No."
"Can I call and say I'm sick?"
"No."
"That you're sick?"
"No."
"That the world's going to end?"
"Jess."
"Wouldn't you rather spend the day alone, just the two of us?" She turned in his arms, opening her eyes to bat her eyelashes at him. "I'd make it worth your while, Captain."
The beginnings of a grin caused the corners of his mouth to twitch but Becker shook his head. "We're going to meet your family, Jess. It's just lunch. What's the worst that could happen?"
She groaned again at his answer and buried her face against his shoulder even as his arms tightened around her and pulled her close. "You just had to say that, didn't you?"
"It'll be fine." He kissed the top of her head, speaking with the true confidence of a man who was perfectly comfortable with who he was.
It was a confidence Jess couldn't help but be jealous of.
Lunch itself wasn't as horrendous as she'd been anticipating. Her parents were on their best behaviour; her mother was thrilled that her youngest was finally bringing someone home and her father, protective of her though he was, had interrogated Becker for the first ten minutes before giving him an approving look and winking at his daughter to show he accepted her choice.
Her sisters, on the other hand, arriving after lunch were impossible.
Isabelle, the eldest, made a point of sitting next to the handsome Captain on the sofa. She touched his arm every time she spoke to drawn his attention back to her, continuously flipped her hair over her shoulder and laughed hysterically every time he said something as though every word out of his mouth was the world's funniest joke.
Isabelle's own partner went mostly ignored but, as he was busy trying to engage Jess in conversation, he didn't seem to mind.
Knowing Becker as well as she did, Jess could see he was getting a little annoyed by the attention – though whether that was the attention he was getting or the attention she was, she wasn't entirely sure - but he was making the effort to be unfailingly polite.
Katherine's tactic was different but no less irritating.
The middle sister of the trio had decided the best way to steal Becker's affections away from her little sister was to point out all of Jess's flaws, highlighting her baby sister's insecurities and taking great pleasure in making Jess squirm uncomfortably on the sofa beside her boyfriend.
Becker's response was to tighten his grip on Jess's hand and make an extra effort at catching her eye so he could smile reassuringly every so often.
Finally, the visit was over and couple could make their excuses and depart, with Jess all but dragging Becker behind her as she attempted to flee her childhood home.
That night, standing in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, Jess stared at her reflection with a critical eye. Engrossed her in studies, she didn't notice Becker enter the room until he appeared behind her in the mirror, his large hands warm on her hips as he drew her back against him.
"Stop it," he told her firmly, nuzzling the side of her neck. "You're looking for things that aren't there."
"I'm too short," Jess argued with a sigh, narrowing her eyes. Still, she tilted her head to one side to allow him better access to her neck. "My eyes are too small, my nose is too pointy and I think Katherine's right, my top lip is thinner than it should be."
"Jessica." With a low growl of what could've been frustration, Becker spun her away from the mirror so she was facing him. "If you were taller, you couldn't wear the shoes you love so much without being too tall. Besides, you're the perfect height for me to do this," he added, lifting her slightly so he could dip his head to kiss her sweetly. "Your eyes are the most amazing shade of blue I've ever seen – and yes, I've met your mother and I'm including her in that. Your nose is cute and perfectly formed," he paused to kiss the tip of it gently, "and your lips are amazingly soft and sweet and kissable."
Kissing her to prove his point, he swept her up into his arms and carried her towards the bed.
"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met," he told her quietly, sometime later after dedicating the best part of an hour to reassuring her that every inch of skin he touched, tasted and kissed was wonderful in his eyes. "And you are perfect for me."
And, for once, Jess believed it was true.
Hope it was okay, Kat! x
